


Count On Me

by vintagenoise



Series: Young Volcanoes [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coming Out, Friendship, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Multi, alternate POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-05
Updated: 2014-09-05
Packaged: 2018-02-16 06:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2259255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vintagenoise/pseuds/vintagenoise
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part of the Young Volcanoes series, takes place mid-'In Over My Head':</p><p>Charlie asks Dean for help with Jo's birthday party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Count On Me

**Author's Note:**

> This is un-beta'd and only cursorily edited, so please let me know if there's any big mistakes! 
> 
> This scene focuses mainly on Dean and Charlie's relationship, so the background pairings are only mentioned, but they include: Dean/Lisa, Dean/Cas, Charlie/Jo, Jo/Dean, Jo/Cas.

_You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3_  
 _I’ll be there_  
 _And I can count on you, like 4, 3, 2_  
 _You’ll be there_  
 _‘Cause that’s what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah_  
 **Count On Me** , Bruno Mars

 

**July 1st, 2006**

Charlie’s really not sure what happened to her verbal filter.

Not that she’s ever had one. Her mother says that she’s always been a trivia hound, spouting out little known facts based on whatever conversation was currently going on around her. She soaks up information like a sponge, and whenever she gets too full, it has to squeeze out somehow, and usually, it’s through her unfiltered mouth.

And this time, she’s really done it.

It’s one thing for Charlie to come out to Dean. He’s her best friend, after all, and he’s above and beyond the most loving, understanding guy she knows. For all his problems (and he has plenty of them, whether or not he knows that Charlie knows), underneath the sarcasm and swagger is a sweet boy who puts everyone else’s needs ahead of his own. Charlie had been nervous telling him about her secret, of course - it took several months to work up the courage to do so, but now that it’s done, she knows she made the right choice in going to Dean first.

But coming out to Dean is very, _very_ different from admitting she actually has a crush on someone.

He stares at her, eyes comically large, then reaches across the table to shake her shoulders, yelling, “Tell me, tell me, tell me!”  like he’ll die if he doesn’t get some kind of gossip to chew on. Charlie’s actually positive that’s the reason they get along so well: Dean is just as much of a knowledge sponge as she is.

Charlie kicks at Dean’s shins until he stops shaking her, then pouts, setting their deck of cards aside. “I don’t know why you’re so excited about this,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “It’s not that big a deal.”

Dean scoffs and tries to guilt her, admitting that he’s already had the ‘crush conversation’ with some of their other friends. Charlie remains stubbornly silent until Dean nudges her and wiggles his eyebrows in that way that he thinks is so attractive but is actually really annoying.

“Fine!” Charlie rolls her eyes, pushing Dean away. “Fine, I was thinking I’d have to tell you anyway, because of her birthday party coming up soon, and I was hoping you’d-”

“It’s Jo?” Dean cuts her off. His voice is quiet and sad as his hand reaches to touch her forearm, and Charlie ducks her head for a moment, embarrassed by his poorly-concealed pity.

Charlie isn’t stupid. She knows her chances with Jo are slim. She accepted that within a week of accepting that the way she felt around this particular friend - the racing heartbeat and easy smiles and eagerness to please - wasn’t normal. Jo isn’t what you’d call boy-crazy, but she really keep her feelings a secret either, especially with her girlfriends. Dean may not know this, but Jo’s first crush had been on him. Even though Jo had laughed about it, dismissing it as being a long time ago, hearing that had been the first time Charlie felt jealousy, and the first time she started to dissect that feeling. Surely, other girls felt nervous and jealous about losing their best friends to a boy, right?

Dean _definitely_ doesn’t know this, because only Pam and Charlie were there when Jo mentioned it, but Jo currently has a crush on _Cas_. And hearing that was the moment Charlie knew for sure. Because Cas isn’t really a threat to their friendship- he’s only around for a few months a year, and is closer to Dean than any of the other Goonies. But Charlie had still been jealous. She’d still been hurt, had suddenly felt very alone and agitated, and it occurred to her as she laid in bed that night, trying not to think about it: she likes Jo in a more than friendly way. The way Dean likes Lisa. And Charlie, she’s not opposed to boys exactly, and she can recognize what makes one handsome, but she’s never really been interested in them the way other girls are.

It had been a shocking thing to realize, and had taken quite a while to finally accept. In the meantime, Charlie found herself sitting closer to Jo, being more affectionate with her, quickly volunteering for any and every opportunity to spend more time with her, get closer to her, make a better impression.

It doesn’t seem to have done anything except make Jo think of Charlie as a better friend. Which just makes Charlie feel guilty- her motives are more selfish than Jo realizes.

So yeah, Charlie’s not stupid. Jo’s not interested in girls.

Still, Charlie tries to smile, if only to make Dean stop looking at her like that, with those sad, green eyes. “The heart wants what it wants,” she says, and tries to change the subject: “But I was hoping you would help me with something.”

Dean sits up a little straighter, studying her curiously. “What’s that?”

“I’m planning a surprise party for Jo, since we were going to go to the midnight show for Pirates on her actual birthday.” Charlie bites her lip and looks down at her lap. “I’m inviting a ton of people, as many as I can get from her school and from ours, people who actually know her. And I’m putting some games together.” She hesitates here, afraid to voice her plan. It’s been kicking around in her head for weeks now, the kind of thing that she knows only a desperate person would think of, and saying it aloud would probably just make Dean judge her and tell her how gross it is to make these sorts of arrangements behind somebody’s back. “One of them is a kissing game,” she says quietly, hoping Dean will make the connection on his own. Hoping he’ll talk her out of it. Hoping he won’t.

Dean turns away, thinking it over. “And you want me to rig it so you can kiss Jo?”

That’s half of it. The worst half, as far as judging Charlie goes, but there’s more. “Not just that,” Charlie says, fidgeting slightly. “And you can say no to this if you want to, I wouldn’t blame you for it.”

The corner of Dean’s mouth twitches. “What is it?”

Charlie takes a breath, trying to rush through her plan before she loses her nerve. “It’ll be weird, if Jo and I just kiss and we end up being the only same-sex people who do it. Plus, it’ll get so much attention from the boys that Jo might freak out and refuse.” She can’t look at him, so she turns her gaze to her lap again, hands twisting around each other. “I was hoping we could rig it so you could kiss a boy first.”

Even without looking directly at him, Charlie can sense the way Dean suddenly goes still. She winces where he can’t see, then takes a few deep breaths.

“I don’t know about that,” Dean says slowly, and when Charlie looks up, she can’t help laughing at the pink glow in his cheeks.

“Don’t be that guy, Dean,” she says, putting her hand on top of his. “You’re straight. Fine. If you’re so straight that you have a gorgeous girlfriend you’re crazy about, why should it matter if you play a game where you’re forced to kiss, I dunno, Ash? Or Victor.” Charlie laughs softly at the image; she doesn’t know Victor very well, but considering he’s on the football team and his relationship with Dean borders on antagonistic at times, the thought of him being forced to kiss Dean is a little hilarious. Not to mention, he’s one of Lisa’s closest friends, and so ridiculously protective of her that half the school thought they were dating, until Lisa started going out with Dean. “Victor might be the best idea, honestly, no one would question you then.”

Dean goes uncharacteristically silent, which makes Charlie a little nervous. If he really didn’t want to do it, or if he just generally thought it was a bad idea, he’d just tell her. Watching him sit there and stare out into space, his cheeks still pink, his body a solid line of tension, it’s weird. Charlie feels like she knows Dean better than anyone, despite the fact that she can’t understand why he hangs out with creeps like that Alastair guy, but she honestly doesn’t know what to expect from this reaction.

In fact, it startles her when Dean suddenly says, “It’d be easier if it was someone I could explain the situation to. Someone who knows what’s up and would be willing to play along. Victor might refuse at the party, and then what?”

Oh. Charlie nods slowly, mumbling, “Good point.” She sways her head from side to side as she thinks it over. Honestly, the only other guy that knows is Cas; she had hung out with him and Bela at the beach a few days ago, and somewhere in the middle of tossing the frisbee around, had decided to go ahead and tell them. It had gone over really well, actually, with both Cas and Bela admitting to questioning their own sexuality sometimes, which had really helped make Charlie feel less alone. Neither had gone so far as to tell her _why_ they were questioning, but Charlie would bet all the money in her R2-D2 bank that Cas sometimes has funny thoughts about Dean. Bela, well, who knows what goes on in that all-girls private school she goes to overseas (not that Charlie has fantasized about anything like that, of course)? But Cas isn’t exactly subtle.

In fact, he’d probably be grateful for the opportunity.

“I told Cas last week. Do you think he’d do it?”

Dean’s face twitches, but he shrugs casually. “Maybe. I can ask him.”

“Great!” Charlie smiles brightly, suddenly feeling light and giddy. “Awesome, well, just, y’know, let me know what he says.”

Dean chuckles softly. “Sure thing.” He reaches for the cards again, shuffles, and deals. They play a few more rounds of poker, but Charlie is distracted, a thought poking around in her head.

Dean knows about her sexuality. He’d accepted it immediately, and offered himself up as a safe space for her, even if he doesn’t entirely understand. Cas and Bela had been good too, because they kind of did understand, and had cheered her up with their easy openness about it.

It’s a huge step to make, but after her friends have been so accepting... Charlie kind of wants to tell her parents.

She’s not afraid of losing them over this kind of confession. Not really. They’re open-minded people who encourage her interests and want her to be nothing but herself. She knows they love her. But, just like when she told Dean, as much as she tries to be rational and reassure herself, she can’t help being terrified of rejection. Homosexuality is such a hot-button topic right now, and you never really know where a person stands on it until they’re confronted with it. Sure, her parents love her now, but how will they feel when she tells them she’s not interested in a boyfriend, and probably never will be? That if she goes to prom this year, she wants to go with another girl, and wear matchy, kitschy, thrift store dresses?

“I’m thinking of telling my parents,” Charlie blurts out, staring pointedly at her cards until they start to blur together.

“Tell them what?” Dean asks, because he’s nothing if not easily distracted.

“About me.” Charlie clears her throat. “That I like girls.”

She glances up to see Dean looking at her, both eyebrows climbing towards his hairline. It’s the same surprised, processing look he’d given her when she told him, and Charlie kind of loves it. It’s gentle and thoughtful without being condescending, everything that Dean doesn’t know he is.

He reaches over and gently grips her forearms, searching her eyes as he says, “If you need somewhere to go, you can always come here.”

Charlie’s lips part in surprise. Just like her, he can’t know how her parents are going to react, so he didn’t bother to reassure her that way. Instead, he makes a promise that they both know he can keep. Charlie knows Mary well enough to know that she would let Charlie stay, regardless of the reason. Hell, Dean is so protective of and loyal to his friends that Mary wouldn’t even have to know what happened, and she’d still let Charlie stay just because Dean insisted on it.

And knowing that she has an option, should she need one, is far more of a relief than any of the placating, comforting words he could have given her.

So Charlie smiles. She’s still nervous, but having a safety net to catch her if she falls, makes it easier to get over that hump and start honestly planning how she’s going to handle the situation.

“Thanks, Dean,” she says. Dean smiles back, and they go back to their game.

\-----

Charlie comes out to her parents a few days later. Her mother smiles and hugs her and, when Charlie can’t stop shaking, offers to read The Hobbit together, like they did when Charlie was little. Her father just thanks the heavens that he doesn’t have to worry about that stupid Dean kid knocking his daughter up anymore.

And while it turns out Charlie doesn’t need that safety net after all, she’ll never forget that Dean offered.

  
 **END**

**Author's Note:**

> I started working on another interlude from Lisa's POV last night, so that'll be up soon too :)
> 
> I really like unreliable narrator and limited POV and all the untouched opportunities they leave, so if there's anything else you're curious about, something that happened off-screen or a scene from someone else's POV like this one, let me know! I'd love to write more of these!


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